It's happened to the best of us. Suddenly your holiday guest list gets a little out of hand and you're left scrambling, trying to figure out how you'll ever seat everyone at your next holiday party.

This dilemma usually occurs as a result of our good intentions and desire to make sure that no one ever feels left out . . .which is especially important during the holidays. One year I got so overzealous with my holiday invites that I ended up with almost 35 people for a formal sit down holiday meal! Admittedly, that holiday dinner was a little bit nuts, but no regrets, because somehow everything miraculously worked and no one ended up sitting on the floor either!

Since we all agree there never seems to be enough seating once the holidays arrive, I went on a hunt for a few ideas and resources to help all of us temporarily expand our seating options during the holidays.

Door Dining Table

As an example, if you’re hosting a formal holiday dinner for more than 8 guests, there’s a good chance your dining table might not be large enough to accommodate everyone. I grew up in a house where my Dad was a builder, so I thought nothing of the fact that our dining room table was made out of a wooden door. Fast forward a couple of decades and the idea of making a dining room table out of a door is suddenly very chic and avant-garde. Need I say more?

Granted, this first example of a DIY dining table is a somewhat more sophisticated than the door/table I grew up with, but it's a good example of what can be done with a little ingenuity. This one even has a glass top added to give it a more formal look.

This example is shown with a standard set of table legs, but if you only need this table as a temporary situation for the holidays, you could use two wine barrels as a base instead. Or to make things even simpler, you could place a large door over the top of a smaller tabletop as a fix for expanding your holiday seating.

Image: diyandcraftsideas.com

DIY Rustic Dining Table

Here's an entirely different example of a more rustic DIY table created by using a rustic door placed over wooden saw horses that serve as the tables legs to create a more eclectic look.

This chunky knitted graphite colored pouf is one of my favorites because it fits easily into almost any décor and is super well priced too. They’re available in several different colors and can be stacked away in a corner to create a cool sculptural tower when not in use.

Image: cb2.com

Kite Kilim Pouf

Or you might prefer the square shape of this Kite Kilim Pouf that’s hand woven using cotton materials. This piece is super versatile because it can be easily stacked to be used as extra seating when needed or as an extra side table by simply placing a tray on top of it.

Ann Monroe (aka Maureen Smith) is a Santa Monica based writer and editor who drives her friends and family crazy with her non-stop love for wordsmithing & humor. Her relentless passion for writing, design, research and travel has steered her into many life adventures ranging from writing to winemaking to real estate project development.